After a good night's sleep and breakfast, Ronan took his men out onto the streets. The journey would last four months. Though they would certainly pass through towns along the way, they still had to purchase enough supplies to handle unexpected situations. Ronan had learned that everyone in the caravan rode horses, while all living creatures were carried in wagons. For the sake of his men, he decided to buy several horses.
The night before, Ronan's luck had exploded, and he had recruited ten Kujit Iron Cavalry from the Light and Darkness MOD. As the Kujit Khanate's top-tier troops, each had cost Ronan five gold coins, and their weekly wages amounted to five silver coins. It made Ronan sigh once again at how quickly money disappeared.
These formidable cavalrymen were as high as level 35. They wore scale armor and Kujit helmets, and rode carefully selected, high-quality warhorses. To preserve speed, the horses were not armored. Their weapons included six javelins strapped to their backs, a refined iron lance, a heavy scimitar, and a round cavalry shield reinforced with iron.
Their arrival had immediately raised Ronan's strength by an entire level. At the same time, however, it had greatly increased his expenses, forcing him to consider how to make money. After asking which goods from Ravenwood Town would bring the biggest price difference in Sinterland, Ronan did some calculations. After setting aside enough money for the newly recruited soldiers' weekly wages and some emergency funds, he spent everything else on a medicinal herb scarce in Sinterland and stored it in his backpack.
It reminded him of his previous life, when he had been broke in the early stages of a game and could only trade between major cities while robbing the forest outlaws he encountered along the way.
After purchasing daily necessities, enough goods to sell in Sinterland, twenty ordinary packhorses, and a small wagon, eighteen of the horses were assigned as mounts for his men, while the remaining two pulled the wagon loaded with supplies.
After lunch, Ronan went to the blacksmith's shop to retrieve his repaired armor and pay the remaining balance before returning to the tavern to rest. Awkwardly, however, the tavern stable could not accommodate so many horses, so Ronan had some of his men take the horses outside town to wait for the caravan.
When he returned to the tavern, Ronan also heard quite a few mercenaries and adventurers discussing how foreign tribes were attacking the town, that Ravenwood Town was in imminent danger, and that anyone who did not leave would die here. Ronan merely shook his head and paid it no mind.
Toward evening, Ronan met the caravan outside the town. Though he did not know why they had to set out at night, they had paid him, so he did not ask too many questions.
The caravan did not have many people, and there were only three wagons of goods. Ronan guessed they might be carrying valuable items; otherwise, transporting so little cargo all the way to Sinterland would not be worthwhile. The caravan had around twenty people, most of them guards. Several caravan managers sat in one wagon, and Ronan spotted Daisy, the receptionist from the Mercenary Guild, among them. Puzzled, he decided to ask her about it during their next rest.
At that moment, the caravan's leader walked over. He was a sturdy man, about 1.8 meters tall, with a close-cropped haircut. He wore a blue robe, and judging by its outline, he seemed to have armor beneath it.
"Hello. You must be Captain Ronan. I am Belicha, the leader of this caravan. Our safety for the rest of the journey will be in your hands."
"You're too polite, Leader Belicha. The caravan guards are all excellent. You would manage well enough even without us."
"Haha, Captain Ronan, you haven't been to Sinterland, have you? That road is full of dangers. Amateurs like us aren't much to look at. We're leaving overnight today and should reach an abandoned watchtower before noon tomorrow. We'll rest there for a while before continuing. If you have no objections, shall we set out now?"
"Certainly. I don't know the road, so I'll leave all arrangements to you. I will definitely keep you safe."
Belicha smiled and turned back toward the caravan. The caravan began to move. Belicha's wagon was at the front, Ronan's wagon was at the rear, and the cargo wagons were in the middle. Ronan's group rode their horses around the convoy alongside the caravan guards.
Nothing happened apart from the chilly night wind making Ronan regret not putting on a robe. The caravan advanced steadily, and the following morning, it arrived on schedule at the abandoned watchtower Belicha had mentioned. It was a small place, with broken walls around it and a stone watchtower about five meters tall in the center.
The caravan settled down and lit fires to cook, while Ronan and his men took out their rations and ate. At that moment, Belicha invited Ronan to join him for a meal. Ronan considered it and did not refuse.
Once seated beside Belicha, Ronan saw Daisy again. She was carefully holding a roasted sweet potato as she ate. Whenever she burned herself, her little brows furrowed. After chatting with Belicha for a while, Ronan got up, sat beside Daisy, and asked:
"We meet again, Miss Daisy. How did you end up with the caravan? Did you quit your job at the Mercenary Guild?"
"Ah, you're the captain of that Calradia Mercenary Group. Your name is... Roderick, right?"
"Haha, you have quite a good memory. You remembered me after meeting only once."
"Mm, it's because your mercenary group's name is so strange. Bishop asked me to serve as the caravan's accountant because I'm very good at arithmetic!" Speaking of her specialty, Daisy smiled proudly, her eyes curving into lovely crescents.
Ronan could not help laughing as well. Seeing that Belicha had finished eating, Ronan said to Daisy:
"Impressive Miss Daisy, then I won't disturb you any longer. I need to discuss the rest of the journey with Mr. Belicha. Goodbye!"
After waving to Daisy, Ronan rose and returned to Belicha. Before Ronan could speak, Belicha said first:
"Captain Ronan, we'll rest here for five hours. Everyone is tired after traveling all night. We should reach Ye Ruige Town before dark, where we'll recuperate before setting out again at dawn. After Ye Ruige, we'll have to cross the Vizan Plains. It will probably take around ten days to get through them. There are quite a few Horse Bandits and wild beasts on the Vizan Plains, so we'll be relying on Captain Ronan's group then."
"Mm, understood. You all rest. I'll arrange for my men to stand watch in shifts." Ronan nodded, returned to his own group, and arranged for his men to rest in two shifts. Then he lay down in the wagon and went to sleep.
Five hours later, after the caravan cleaned up its traces, it set out again. Ronan had only just emerged from the forest and had not even enjoyed a few peaceful days before embarking on another journey. Sighing that he was simply doomed to work himself to the bone, he also began looking forward to the trip to Sinterland. After all, it was his first long journey since arriving in this world, a perfect chance to learn more about it. Besides, he had heard that Sinterland was a kingdom governed by elves. Having met Dorodamenro, Ronan had developed considerable expectations for elven beauties.
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